Scars Are Souvenirs
by theDoctorlies
Summary: Naruto writes a letter that he doesn’t intend on sending. Hints of KakaIru.


Title: Scars Are Souvenirs

Disclaimer: Naruto belongs to Masashi Kishimoto and the song "Name" belongs to the Goo Goo Dolls, therefore I own neither.

Summary: Naruto writes a letter that he doesn't intend on sending. Hints of KakaIru.

A/N: I'm a fan of Naruto and the Goo Goo Dolls, so I decided to stick them together. This takes place after the Valley of the End, after Sasuke leaves, so it may contain spoilers. Thank you.

_**And even though the moment passed my by**_

_**I still can't turn away**_

Naruto stared blankly at the piece of paper sitting innocently on Iruka-sensei's table. It was blank, awaiting the words that were drifting around in the Genin's head. Those words, the ones he had wanted to say to Sasuke two months earlier, kept him up at night most of the time. Being alone in his apartment was bad, too, because of the nightmares. There was nobody there to tell him everything would be okay.

'_**Cause all the dreams you never thought you'd lose**_

_**Get tossed along the way**_

After he returned from the hospital, Iruka-sensei took him in. Naruto wouldn't talk to anyone for a while, having failed at bringing Sasuke back. He had promised Sakura-chan that he would bring the dark-haired boy back and he had failed. That made him feel terrible. Finally, here he was, writing out the words that would ease his mind.

_**Letters that you never meant to send**_

_**Get lost or thrown away**_

Naruto picked up the pencil, put the tip to the paper, and wrote _Dear Sasuke,_ in a tiny scrawl. He chewed on his lip thoughtfully then quickly erased what he had written. He wrote _Sasuke-teme,_ instead. It sounded better, more indifferent, in his opinion. He didn't want Sasuke to get the impression that his leaving Konoha actually mattered. But then again, he didn't plan on sending the letter anytime soon.

_**Now we're grown up orphans**_

_**That never knew their names**_

_**We don't belong to no one that's a shame**_

Naruto tapped the end of his pencil on the table, gnawing at his lip. He wasn't sure what else he should write. He wasn't going to send it, so the things he could've written were unlimited. So, he wrote: _You're an ass._ He liked that. _Why did you have to leave, Sasuke-teme? Do you _want_ Orochimaru to take your body?_

_**You could hide beside me maybe for a while**_

_**And I won't tell no one your name**_

_**And I won't tell 'em your name**_

_Sakura-chan won't stop crying. Why does she have to like you so much? What's so special about you?_ Naruto scowled at what he had written. These were all questions from pent-up frustration. Why couldn't Sakura-chan like him instead? He wouldn't be the one to leave her. _Does revenge mean more to you than us, Sasuke-teme?_

_**Scars are souvenirs you never lose**_

_**The past is never far**_

_Of course,_ Naruto thought bitterly. There was a twisting feeling in his stomach as he wrote: _I wasn't mad at you, even though I should've been._ The blond nin thought that was ironic. Sasuke had nearly killed him and he wasn't angry. The Uchiha had even called Naruto his closest friend. Where was the justice in that?

_**Did you lose yourself somewhere out there**_

_**Did you get to be a star**_

_Although you called me your closest friend and tried to kill me…What the hell, teme? I risked my life to bring you back. So did Kiba, Neji, Shikamaru, and Chouji. _Naruto was ready to shred the letter into pieces. He was remembering things that he preferred to forget. Remembering his failure wasn't helping the pure turmoil in his chest.

_**Don't it make you sad to know that life **_

_**Is more than who we are**_

_And I had promised Sakura-chan that I'd bring you back._ Little drops splashed onto the paper, smearing the ink that was still wet. Naruto wiped at his eyes angrily with his fist, willing himself not to care. Sasuke had made the decision to leave; if he came back, he would have to answer to many people. Naruto would make sure of that. He was going to beat the crap out of that teme.

_**You grew up way too fast**_

_**Now there's nothing to believe**_

_**And re-runs all become our history**_

_I tried my best, ne? Almost got you, but it wasn't enough._ More splatters hit the paper, smeared the words. Naruto sniffed noisily. _I couldn't bring you back. No matter how much I wanted to._ Was he even writing sentences anymore? They sounded like fragments of his thoughts strung together to make sense, but not really succeeding. They were run-on sentences and…whatever.

_**A tired song keeps playing on a tired radio**_

_**And I won't tell no one your name**_

_**And I won't tell 'em your name**_

His hand was starting to cramp and he hadn't even written everything he wanted to. His letter was starting to look a little short. _And I don't even know why I'm writing this. I think I have something to say, but I can't even write it out! _Naruto chewed on his lip in thought. _I'm not even gonna send it! But…ah, never mind. You're so far away, it doesn't even matter. I don't think anybody hates you. I'm not sure because I've been holed up in Iruka-sensei's apartment for two months._

_**And I won't tell 'em your name**_

_**Mmm Mhmm**_

_**And I won't tell 'em your name**_

_He tells me it's unhealthy to bottle things up. Who could I even talk to? Sakura-chan? I think she's tired of hearing about you. So is everyone else. Kakashi-sensei still reads those books. It's only been two months, so nothing has changed. We don't do very many missions since there are only three of us now. We have to get a new member soon._

_**I think about you all the time**_

_**But I don't need the same**_

Naruto yawned widely, his eyes getting heavy. Although the day was still early, he was tired. _I'm going to stop here because my hand hurts and I'm tired. I don't even know why I wrote this; I don't feel any better._ The blond Genin rubbed at his eyes with another sleepy yawn. He signed his name near the bottom of the letter then added at the very bottom: _P.S. I'm glad you think of me as your closest friend._

He folded up the piece of paper and shuffled over to the couch where his blanket and pillow were folded together. With another long yawn he flopped onto the couch and pulled the blanket over himself. He was fast asleep when Kakashi and Iruka came into the small apartment.

"So he's fallen asleep?" The silver-haired Jounin mused. Kakashi looked over at Iruka, who was staring down at Naruto with glittering eyes. "'Ruka-kun?"

"Hmm? Oh, yeah. He's been sleeping a lot lately." The Chunin smiled at his partner before pulling the older man into the kitchen. Once there, they noticed the piece of paper lying on the table. Kakashi picked it up.

"It's to Sasuke." He said. He handed it to Iruka, who read the letter aloud. "I guess we should send it for him, ne?" The Jounin asked.

"Hai."

_**If it's lonely where you are**_

_**Come back down**_

_**And I won't tell 'em your name**_

Owari

2


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